A Perfect Day

The perfect moment is never what you expect. Photo by JoshiDx

It was supposed to be my finest moment, my greatest show of brilliance. Everything that happened was going to be magical, or so I told myself as I climbed the steps to the top of the lighthouse on that cool summer’s eve.

I was wearing my favorite jeans and had the ring tucked neatly inside the front pocket. Off in the distance the sun was dipping low on the horizon to take a swim in the ocean waves. A gentle breeze blew through Sierra’s gorgeous brown hair. She ran towards the rail and leaned over it, trying to get the perfect picture of the light below us. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring, taking a deep breath to steady myself.

“You have got to see this!” Sierra turned her head sideways, leaning even further over the rail. “Come here!”

It looked dangerous, but then again, that was why I loved her. She was wild, exciting, living in the edge. All the more reminder of why I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Not a single moment would be dull.

I propped open the small silver box in my hand, preparing to pop the question. Kneeling down I held it out before me and cleared my throat, hoping it would get her attention. It didn’t. She took forever taking the picture, and when she finally did turn around she almost fell over me. Her silky green dress caught in the railing, and as she tugged it out I tried to smile.

“Sierra… will you marry me?

Her eyes went wide; that I had expected. Then she clutched her chest, and even that seemed fine, but when she started hyperventilating I knew it couldn’t be good. She leaned against the railing again but this time looked like she was sure to fall.

“I can’t breath!” she gasped.

She pointed to her throat as if to emphasize the point. I stood to pull her away from the thin metal rail when she started flailing her arms. Her hands crashed into mine, knocking the ring from my hand onto the landing. There it bounced, tumbled, and then dropped the rest of the way down to the beach below.

Looking down it had to be a seven-story drop, and I winced as the box crashed into the rocky sand. Sierra’s eyes got wider, and I felt my heart start to sink as I stared at the beach. It was going to be a long walk down. Sierra stood trembling in silence, and neither of us spoke for what seemed like an eternity.

“So I guess that’s a no?” I said, the words coming out sharp and dry. I meant it as a joke, but Sierra promptly started sobbing, and I knew right then it was the wrong thing to say. Scratching my head I looked back down to the beach and let out a deep sigh. “Maybe I can just go down, bring it up and try this all again?”

I had hoped that would make her smile, but tears kept running down her cheeks. Trudging down the lighthouse steps I wondered how my perfect proposal could have gone so wrong. As I reached the bottom landing, the lighthouse keeper peaked out of the gift shop and grinned.

“Did she say yes?”

“Not exactly.”

I meant to smile at him, but bit my lip instead and watched him shrink back behind the door, embarrassment flush over his face. It was hard to take. Rushing outside, I rounded the lighthouse, making for the spot where the ring had fallen. It didn’t take long to find it amongst the pebbled sand. I raced over and picked up the silver box, brushing off the sand as I opened it up. The brief joy I had felt from finding the box vanished.

The ring was gone.

I combed through the sand furiously, but it was no use. I just couldn’t find it. I probably would have looked all night, but just as I was ready to pull out my hair in frustration I heard a soft, sweet voice call behind me.

“Yes.”

I turned around. Sierra was standing there, eyes still red from crying, dress ripped from where it caught on the railing. She appeared a terrible mess, but in all my life I swear she has never been as beautiful as she was right then. With a faint blush in her cheeks, she looked at the ground then back into my eyes.

“Of course I’ll marry you.”

After all that had happened that evening, her answer was good enough for me. I kissed her hard, and we got married that June. I never did find the ring. We looked for a while after dark, but both of us agreed that our love was bigger than a golden trinket and never looked back.

Just today on our tenth anniversary a letter arrived in the mail. It was from the lighthouse keeper, with a note saying that a man had stopped by his beach with a metal detector looking for buried treasure. He said the man didn’t find much, except for a little thing he thought might belong to me.

Good thing I had it engraved.